Daniel vs. Aureole & Gordon Ramsay

[agaaga]

When I visited NYC this time, I had dinner at Daniel. It was my second time to be there after their renovation. Food was fairly good and service was O.K., but not impressive. At Daniel, there seem to be so many staff but when you need them, they are not around. Perhaps there is some kind of efficiency problem with their system.

On another occasions I had dinner at Aureole and Gordon Ramsay. Both places had a lot less number of staff, but they were very swift, professional, and they were always around when I needed them. Their service was practically flawless.

Although I do not pay too much attention to Michelin stars, I understand Daniel received 3 stars, while Aureole got 1 star and Gordon Ramsay 2 stars. I personally think it should be the other way around. Dinner at Daniel was fairly good, but not memorable at all.

[porkpa]

The new Aureole bears no resemblance to the old one. I have no idea why they made the change, but the new place is terrible compared to the old town house. They also very much miss not having the maitre D Alex in the front of the house. Does anybody know what happened to Alex? Is he working somewhere else?

[ellenost]

Alex was the best! Miss him very much. When I heard that Alex was not going to be part of the "new" Aureole, I decided that I didn't want to be part of the "new" Aureole either. Still haven't been back (and I used to dine at the "old" Aureole about 10 times a year).

[Notorious P.I.G.]

Gordon Ramsay is kind of a sleeper in nyc but I've always had really good meals there. Very underrated.

[drumwine]

caveat emptor....had lunch at MAZE a few years ago...everything was over-salted.

[Notorious P.I.G.]

Bummer. I've eaten lunch and dinner there fairly frequently and have never had that problem. Hopefully an off day.

[drumwine]

not about to test that theory...too many other great restaurants.

[Notorious P.I.G.]

Not about to disagree there!

[agaaga]

Had dinner at the 'Restaurant (not Maze)' and it was superb to me! :)

[Hoc]

I did notice that everything was on the salty side when I ate there on Saturday. Not horribly oversalted, but the meal could have lost about 10 percent of the salt and been perfect.

[ellenost]

I had a great dinner at Gordon Ramsay about six months ago. The food was delicious and beautifully prepared, and the service was very attentive and warm. I think I need to schedule another dinner at Gordon Ramsay very soon.

I've never been a fan of Daniel due to poor service.

I used to be a regular diner at Aureole, but haven't been back since they moved to their new location.

[Spiritchaser]

Don't want to stray off the subject but ellenost you aren't missing ANYTHING by not going back to Aureole, the new location is soulless, the food uninspired, and the service seemed fake. So disappointed when compared to the old location.

[ellenost]

That's what I was afraid of when I heard that they changed their front of house staff. I much preferred the cuisine by Dante Boccuzzi and Tony Aiazzi. I guess sometimes change isn't for the better after all.

[Littleman]

I have always enjoyed Aureole for lunch and/or dinner. I think it's a wonderful restaurant. We stay at The Pierre quite often. It's fun to dine at Aureole as you can walk back and forth.